Katherine Louise Stowe: A Birth Story

Katie's First Picture - 09.29.12

Not quite the way I expected, but miss Katherine Louise "Katie" Stowe has arrived. September 29, 3:28am, 1 pound, 3 ounces, 12 inches. We've got quite the road ahead.

09.29.12

I woke up Tuesday, September 25th, with some cramps and bleeding that I later found out were contractions (found out I may have an incompetent cervix.. I'll let you google that). Went immediately to labor & delivery, where a cervical check showed I was dilating and had a bulging sac (they couldn't tell how dilated I was, but the best estimate was 9cm.. which we later found out was more like 3cm). I was admitted and started on a medicine (magnesium sulfate.. made ALL my muscles work at around 20% efficiency, which was great for my uterus, but not so great for breathing or focusing my eyes) to stop labor. I stayed on the medicine for two days while they also gave me a steroid to help Katie's lungs develop once she got here. I was taken off the magnesium sulfate on Thursday morning and put on another (procardia) to keep any contractions at bay. After a day of no contractions, I was moved to a different room. Early Saturday morning I started having some powerful contractions, despite the procardia. A cervical check showed that I was completely effaced and ready to push. Minutes later I was in a room delivering Katie. I didn't plan on having an unmedicated delivery.. but Katie had her own ideas.

10.01.12

She's currently in the NICU at Baptist Memorial Women's East. Her heartrate and blood pressure are great. She started off on a ventilator (but had trouble because of an anomaly in her trachea), and was moved to an oscillator early October 3rd because her PH levels weren't where the doctors liked. She has been doing well on it so far. As of her weigh-in yesterday, she is up to 1 pound, 8 ounces.. but as the doctors put it, her weight will fluctuate a lot during the beginning (but it is still comforting to hear!).

10.05.12

They tried putting a line down her yesterday for feeding, and they discovered what the doctors think is TEF/EA (Tracheal Esophageal Fistula and Esophageal Atresia. It's kinda complicated.. but fixable via surgery). She is still too tiny to go through the surgery, so they're most likely going to put a feeding tube into her stomach soon, to help her gain weight quickly. They're moving her to LeBonheur's Children's Hospital on Monday, where she'll have the specialized care she needs.

10.05.12